'American Horror Story: Roanoke' Episode 3 recap: Spirited skeptics

This week's episode of "American Horror Story" saw the return of several series alums and the first character death of the season.

The search for Flora lead the dramatic reenactors through a trail of horrifying and seemingly demonic symbols — body parts of Flora's doll recreated with the bloody dismembered limbs of a pig — and to an old house riddled with animal skulls and other remains. Shelby, Matt and Lee, after hearing some noises make their way out to the barn where they spot perhaps one of the more shocking things we've seen on "American Horror Story" so far: a pair of dirty children feeding off a sow.

Advertisement

The trio turns the pair of feral boys over to the police who speculated the kids were abandoned by their parents. Adina Porter's Lee recalls being horrified in her interview, wondering what those parents would do to a child that wasn't their own. Flora's angry father storms the police station, outraged by the loss of his daughter. He accuses Lee of hiding the girl away and pushes her to the ground before storming out. Defeated after the drama and long day of searching for the missing girl, Sarah, Matt and Lee try to sleep.

"Little did we know, we wouldn't be getting any sleep that night," André Holland's Matt said.

The police had found a body, he explained — they rushed to the scene expecting to find Flora, only to discover the burnt body of Mason attached to a star-shaped symbol.

Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Matt on the show. (FX)

After watching security footage from the night of Mason's disappearance — Sarah Paulson's Shelby and Cuba Gooding Jr.'s Matt mull the possibility of Lee's involvement in her ex's murder. Lee (Angela Bassett) walks in on the conversation but the conflict is interrupted by a quirky, white-haired medium, Cricket, who first debuted in "Coven."

Porter's talking head Lee remembers doubting his ability, but the Southern psychic proves her wrong, she said, by pointing out the small hiding space Flora hid out in with the mysterious Priscilla in last week's episode. Cricket was told the grieving Lee Priscilla was real, that she died in the 1500s and that her daughter was with the spirit.

In order to find the Flora, the group attempts a séance seeking to speak with Priscilla. They are instead met by Kathy Bates' ghostly character, angry and visible only to the psychic.

"I must protect it from trespassers such as these," the ghost tells him, but Cricket is unshaken and tells her she is the trespasser before uttering the mysterious word "Croatoan."

The characters are still looking for Flora. (FX)

Matt's talking head was unconvinced by the supernatural events and Cuba's got physical with the psychic, who had the gall to ask for money. Lee felt preyed upon and tricked by the man so she pulled her gun on the white-haired man, only to be talked down by her brother.

"I'll be back," Cricket tells them. "You'll invite me."

Before he leaves, Cricket whispers something about Lee's other daughter Emily, who she gave birth to when she was only 17. Porter's Lee recalled losing her 4-year-old daughter after leaving her in the call while she ran into the store. When pressed about it — Lee demands the cameras be turned off and the perspective shifts, giving way to wider shot of the set the documentary is being filmed on. (After the show's wrap, some fans took to Twitter to say Evan Peters' is the voice behind the interviewer.)

"The red light is still on," Porter says, holding a tissue and a coffee, "Are we still recording?"

Sarah Paulson plays Shelby in th new season f the show. (FX)

The format shifts back to the re-enactment perspective where Cricket has returned to tell Lee the story of Bates' "The Butcher." Deemed a traitor by her people, she's locked in an iron maiden. They leave her out in the woods where she's rescued by a primal, though seemingly paranormal, Lady Gaga who feeds her a beating "heart I stole." They returned to the camp and Bates takes a cleaver to those who condemned her to death, sparing only her son (Wes Bentley). Together they head to Roanoke where she promises to protect the land forever — the land Matt, Shelby and Lee currently find themselves living on.

Cricket leads the trio out into the woods where he promises The Butcher they will leave — even burn the house down, an idea Shelby is less than keen on — if Flora is returned to them. Throughout the negotiations though, Matt disappeared from the group. Shelby finds him shortly after having sex with Lady Gaga's mysterious character.

The episode ends with an angry Shelby walking back into the home outraged at her cheating husband for offering to burn their home down, and Lee getting arrested — an incident likely prompted by Paulson's cranky character.